Gencon 06

[EricJ]

well, so the rumor is I might be going to Gencon this year, 95% sure, especially since the timing of GD UK is out of the question. So wondering who else is going to be there, what I should expect, painting contest fun insider tips ;)

And plans to meet up and have fun durring and after convention hours of course!

[Skya]

GenCon is always a blast. I'll be there helping judge the paint competition, manning the demo tables, helping out with the paint and take and running a couple classes on source lighting.
If you havent been to GenCon before check out the gencon website. If you look under the event catalog there are a whole slew of miniatures painting/sculpting workshops that you might be interested in. There are also games of every type and just exploring the dealers hall can be an entire weekends worth of activity. Then there's also the art show and the auction. In can all be a bit overwhealming. I recommend perusing the catalog, figuring out what you really want to do and then spending the rest of the time wandering aimlessly through the dealers hall. Make sure to bring yourself by the paint area and introduce yourself. We'll give you a proper welcome.

:tea:

[TheMasses]

For what it's worth I’ll be there selling miniatures and taking paint classes.

[supervike]

I have about a 60% chance of going. I just want to see the dealers hall....so many minis in one place sounds too good to pass up.

[Ritual]

I have about a 60% chance of going. I just want to see the dealers hall....so many minis in one place sounds too good to pass up.
Is your stock running low? :tongue2:

[EricJ]

hah, yeah, if I'm there it sounds like i'll be stuck helping Nathan with his sales, 4 days in close proximity with the guy...I might end up scarred...:(

I am excited though, the chance of a live painting competition that doesn't include GW minis! should be fun...as long as people with exhibitor badges can still enter the painting comp?

[Frustrated Father]

I'm going to have my name tattooed on his butt while we're there just to make things official like ...

:wacko:


Wyrd will be there at a booth doing the exhibitor thing and me, I'll be a complete nervous wreck and a bundle of nerves but I'll be more than pleased to see everyone that cares to stop by (we'll find out about the booth location here soon).

Other than pimpin' Wyrd stuff, I'll likely mingle and just watch all the goings on, been ages since I've cared to game, October since I've picked up a paint brush (sigh) and likely I'll be thoroughly knackered - though not enough so that I won't be able to make it to the bar across the street and enjoy a beer with dinner.

[r2-j1]

I am excited though, the chance of a live painting competition that doesn't include GW minis! should be fun...as long as people with exhibitor badges can still enter the painting comp?

It shouldn't be a problem I think. Marika Reimer won best in show last year, and I belive she was there with Crocodile Games.

The Gencon painting competition is pretty cool, but I wish it was a bigger deal. Like you I wish there was a prestigious live painting competition that wasn't GW only. I think they need to get better coverage of the winners and entrants and really take it to the next level (try and find the coverage of last years winners). Really try and make it into a show that people really work to enter and win. There seem to be signs it may be heading that way maybe :) . Right now the top end of the entries is very good, with some great work by some great painters, but the quality tends to drop off pretty quickly. I would love to see a deep field with tons of high quality entries.

[Jubilee]

I'm going!!!! I'm taking all the painting classes I can and expect to be totally exhausted.

/ali

[Wren]

Sue Wachowski/Paintminion organizes the GenCon painting events and contests, and she and those who assist her do a fantastic job, and I think they improve things every year. The first time I put brush to mini was at GenCon 2003's paint 'n take, and I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to try out mini-painting before committing to buying a bunch of supplies. I took a number of classes at GC 2004 and 2005, and am signed up for a bunch this year. Looking over my event catalogues, it seems as if just more and more classes have been offered each year, with an evident effort to include painting/sculpting 'names' and an ever wider variety of topics and techniques. This year I'm not even signed up for half of the classes I'd be interested in taking, but time and money preclude any more. I preregister for events every year, and every year I end up blowing off at least one because I need more time to gawk in the dealer's room or in favour of something I didn't know about until I got there. I have never cancelled a painting event. (Although I have had one that was cancelled due to teacher illness last year.)

It looks to me as if there have been an increasing number of entries in the paint contest in each of those past three years, also, although I admittedly haven't been taking a headcount. I feel very privileged to have had something make first cut last year, given the quality of the competition! It certainly seems to me as if big names in the hobby are entering and winning there. There was a concerted effort last year by the mini events organizers to get quality pictures of the winners and even first cuts. My only personal complaint with the organization of the contest is that it seems to take a while to get information on manufacturer awards out, and I don't know how much of that is the manufacturers or GenCon administration or what. I'm a slow painter and wanting to get started on entries, but I there's only one confirmed manufacturer award so far to my knowledge. (I didn't get to the awards ceremony last year, I meant to, but had a last minute chance to enter a tournament and get $40 of a game for the price of a generic ticket as well as a chance at even more booty.)

Admittedly, I haven't been to a Games Day, and I don't know how many entries are typical, or what the ratio of entries from serious painter vs. hobby painter is. I share the desire for a non-GW contest that people take just as seriously as the GW and make as big a deal about. I don't know that I'll ever bother to try for a Golden Daemon, I just wouldn't want to take the time to learn all the GW fluff to try to win a paint contest, and I'm no good at converting as yet. So I would be very happy to see GenCon's manufacturer independent contest become a lot more significant in the painting community. I'm just not sure I see what Sue or even GenCon can do to really make that happen, though. Part of the problem is coverage - there's no White Dwarf equivalent that is going to get the results of a GenCon contest out to the masses of not just one country, but the world and get people all excited about the contest. I think there was some coverage of GenCon in Harbinger and possibly Undefeated, but both those magazines are defunct, which probably happened because neither had enough readers to really make a White Dwarf kind of impact anyway.

The other part of the problem is the community, although that's in a cycle with the coverage thing, I'd say. Plenty of the big name painters show up at GenCon to enter and teach, but many of them are not particularly active in the wider Internet painting community, so their presence doesn't necessarily 'pimp' the contest itself. Most of the people who are more active and in more of a reporter role don't seem to be taking GenCon very seriously - there's very little discussion pre or post con or picture posting, nothing like what there is with a Games Day. (With the exception of Electric Ocean, and its galleries are where to go for coverage of GenCon 2004 and 2005. http://electricocean.com/67/index.php?name=coppermine) Maybe it's more the middle tier that's missing - the equivalent of the up and comers who are just starting to win their first Demon or be serious first cut contenders?

Anyway, to answer the original question, I'm planning to go to GenCon too. I'm hoping that I will get to meet more people this year. While I'm fairly happy with my painting progress, I'm less happy with my inability to be social and get to know more people in the painting community. :-<

My advice for planning... the dealer hall is open 10-6 every day (closes at 4 on Sunday), so the more time you want to spend there, the more events you want to try to schedule before or after that. I could easily spend every hour of the con in the hall, but I'm there as much for board games and card games as minis. Even if you don't care that much about the dealer hall, I wouldn't pack your schedule too full with pre-planned events. There's always stuff that comes up at the con that you either didn't hear about in advance or seems more interesting once you're there. Saturday afternoon/evening in particular they seem to schedule a lot of Con wide events (costume contest and manufacturer stuff) that doesn't get announced until long after the regular events are announced. That includes mini stuff, too - one year they had sculptors like Sandra Garrity and several others set up in a hall that I knew nothing about until I was walking down said hall and saw a sign. Reaper often sets up sculpters at their booth, and I think Magnificent Egos did at least one year also. On the flip side of that, preregistration for anything you do really want is recommended. While they seem to have improved the process a lot, it's really the best way to avoid standing in lines and also to make sure you get the things you really, really want.

[r2-j1]

I have been to Gencon the last 3 years, probably won't make it this year. I agree with Wren that both the Comptition and the painting Events have improved every year. The people who selflessly run it deserve nothing but praise, and it is what makes me hopeful that maybe it really can take that next step. If only we could focus GW's marketing strength into something non GW :vb_tongue

[GreyHorde]

I've been to GenCon Indy the past 3 years, since it moved there (only about 100 miles for me). FWIW, I'll be there taking lots of mini classes, spending more time & money than I should in the exhibit hall, putting names with faces, that sort of thing.

[supervike]

Where do I find info about these painting classes?

I looked through the GENCON website, but am not finding any specific info.

[Jubilee]

If you go to the community section, and to downloads, you can download excel files of the events. Painting classes are listed as workshops, and the excel files will contain short descriptions of the class. The titles themselves usually give a good indication as well.. :)

/ali

[EricJ]

I'm excited!! sounds like they'll be a lot of familiar names around. I may be stuck for hours on end chained to nathan...so I'll need distraction!!!!

now I just need to figure out a few painting comp entries...time is running decivingly low actually...

[Skya]

I have never cancelled a painting event. (Although I have had one that was cancelled due to teacher illness last year.)


Mmmmmm, if it was a Sunday black and white class, then my apologies. I had managed to seriously sprain my ankle the night before and it was just a bad sceen.



It looks to me as if there have been an increasing number of entries in the paint contest in each of those past three years, also, although I admittedly haven't been taking a headcount. I feel very privileged to have had something make first cut last year, given the quality of the competition! It certainly seems to me as if big names in the hobby are entering and winning there. There was a concerted effort last year by the mini events organizers to get quality pictures of the winners and even first cuts.


The competition numbers have been steady the last two years but the quality has definately gone up over all. It's good to see people appreciating the venue.



My only personal complaint with the organization of the contest is that it seems to take a while to get information on manufacturer awards out, and I don't know how much of that is the manufacturers or GenCon administration or what. I'm a slow painter and wanting to get started on entries, but I there's only one confirmed manufacturer award so far to my knowledge.

Unfortunately that's usually an issue with actually getting the manufacturers to get their butts in gear and actually *give* us that information. Then of course we have to get GenCon to update things in a timely matter. and trust me they are insanely busy.



I share the desire for a non-GW contest that people take just as seriously as the GW and make as big a deal about. I don't know that I'll ever bother to try for a Golden Daemon, I just wouldn't want to take the time to learn all the GW fluff to try to win a paint contest, and I'm no good at converting as yet. So I would be very happy to see GenCon's manufacturer independent contest become a lot more significant in the painting community. I'm just not sure I see what Sue or even GenCon can do to really make that happen, though. Part of the problem is coverage - there's no White Dwarf equivalent that is going to get the results of a GenCon contest out to the masses of not just one country, but the world and get people all excited about the contest. I think there was some coverage of GenCon in Harbinger and possibly Undefeated, but both those magazines are defunct, which probably happened because neither had enough readers to really make a White Dwarf kind of impact anyway.


I think the original plan had been coverage in Dragon I'm not entirely sure what ended up happening with that though. Just getting GenCon to get the pictures we had taken and get them up on a website has been like pulling teeth, honestly. I dont know what's up in thier online department, but speed and consistancy isnt their strong point. I despise the "new" GenCon site. It's rediculously counter intuitive and navigating it's an absolute pain. Blah. But I digress, yes some sort of online presence of pictures in a public venue would definately give teh push towards making GenCon more of a "name" for painting competitions.



The other part of the problem is the community, although that's in a cycle with the coverage thing, I'd say. Plenty of the big name painters show up at GenCon to enter and teach, but many of them are not particularly active in the wider Internet painting community, so their presence doesn't necessarily 'pimp' the contest itself. Most of the people who are more active and in more of a reporter role don't seem to be taking GenCon very seriously - there's very little discussion pre or post con or picture posting, nothing like what there is with a Games Day. (With the exception of Electric Ocean, and its galleries are where to go for coverage of GenCon 2004 and 2005. http://electricocean.com/67/index.php?name=coppermine) Maybe it's more the middle tier that's missing - the equivalent of the up and comers who are just starting to win their first Demon or be serious first cut contenders?


I had noticed that we get a lot of "well Marika and Derek are entering so there's no point in me bothering" which is just abjectly silly. You cant win if you dont enter. And a lot of it's about pushing yourself personally, not about comparing yourself to the top notch. Even if you are comparing, it's about stiving for a goal. If you give up you'll never make it. Not to mention the fact that there are a number of categories in which the cometition usually isnt quite as intense.

[Skya]

If you go to the community section, and to downloads, you can download excel files of the events. Painting classes are listed as workshops, and the excel files will contain short descriptions of the class. The titles themselves usually give a good indication as well.. :)

/ali

Keep in mind also that most of the teachers will accept generic tickets if you want to wander into a class that lists as full. Often times as many as half the people wont show up.

[Patrick]

Vicky and I will be there and are already working on our painting entries.

Part of the problem is coverage - there's no White Dwarf equivalent that is going to get the results of a GenCon contest out to the masses of not just one country, but the world and get people all excited about the contest.

I talked a bit about this with Sue at ReaperCon and there is a push to try and get coverage for the painting contest in Dragon Magazine. While not mini-specific in content, it does have a huge world-wide circulation to the gaming community. Apparently Paizo is reluctant to publish pics if there happen to be "questionable" winning entries in terms of content suitable for all ages. If you really want to beef up the contest coverage, pester the hell outta the Paizo guys at the show and talk them into adding coverage of the contest. I also believe Mengu will be shooting pics of the entries for EO again but I didn't get to ask him.


I would like to first offer my utmost admiration for all of the fantastic painters worldwide who have been recognized for their superior painting abitlities by having been awarded a GW Demon award of various metals. My beef comes not from the painters or community, but from the company itself. I will likely never enter (let alone win) a GD contest due to my view of GW's business practices. With that in mind, I hold my bronze Sophie much dearer than anything GW would ever award, simply because I know that the spirit of that award is to foster community, promote the hobby in general and encourage the skills of the entrants, as opposed to some of the judging criteria I have heard has occurred at some of the GD events.


Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing more of you folks in person. GenCon is a fantastic experience and it's even more fun meeting up there with friends you know.

[Wren]

Oops, took me longer than I thought to wander back to this thread!

Mmmmmm, if it was a Sunday black and white class, then my apologies. I had managed to seriously sprain my ankle the night before and it was just a bad sceen.

Yep, that was the one. And stuff happens, so no worries there. I debated making a funny remark when I posted that, as I knew you were active in this forum, but I couldn't quite think of a good way to do it. :-> Painting black, white and more monochromatic/limited palettes is still a topic I need to learn more about, but this year I'm in your source lighting class.

I think the original plan had been coverage in Dragon I'm not entirely sure what ended up happening with that though. Just getting GenCon to get the pictures we had taken and get them up on a website has been like pulling teeth, honestly. I dont know what's up in thier online department, but speed and consistancy isnt their strong point. I despise the "new" GenCon site. It's rediculously counter intuitive and navigating it's an absolute pain. Blah. But I digress, yes some sort of online presence of pictures in a public venue would definately give teh push towards making GenCon more of a "name" for painting competitions.

I'm glad they have a website now, but yeah, it's not ideal. And I was really hoping that more exhibitors and event runners would use the forums than do. Sue's pretty good about hopping on to answer questions about the miniature stuff, but that's a minority.

Coverage in Dragon would be very cool. I have loads of back issues, and back in the day they used to have reviews of minis, I think they had some articles on photographing minis and other things, it would be nice to see them get back into mini coverage a little more.

I had noticed that we get a lot of "well Marika and Derek are entering so there's no point in me bothering" which is just abjectly silly. You cant win if you dont enter. And a lot of it's about pushing yourself personally, not about comparing yourself to the top notch. Even if you are comparing, it's about stiving for a goal. If you give up you'll never make it. Not to mention the fact that there are a number of categories in which the cometition usually isnt quite as intense.

I'm very happy I entered last year. I wasn't going to, partly for the reasons you mention. A couple of weeks before the contest I got inspired by a mini from one of the less contended manufacturers, and decided to go ahead and give it a try. There's still a bit of an intimidation factor, particularly for certain categories or lines of minis, but I'm just hoping to improve over what I did last year.